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For all the conspiracy theorists that think Apple is intentionally throttling...

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think there are many companies out there looking to turn away throngs of customers - each with at least $500 in-hand to spend.

*shrug*
 
Patriot24 said:
Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think there are many companies out there looking to turn away throngs of customers - each with at least $500 in-hand to spend.

*shrug*
Click to expand...

Agreed! Thats why I never understood the countless posts I see where people make a big stink over the lack of iPad 2's.
 
Patriot24 said:
Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think there are many companies out there looking to turn away throngs of customers - each with at least $500 in-hand to spend.

*shrug*
Click to expand...

Pent up demand.

Your not turning away those customers, your only making them more anxious to get that product. The people waiting for an iPad are likely not to change that idea, they want one and will get one..
 
dgree03 said:
Pent up demand.

Your not turning away those customers, your only making them more anxious to get that product. The people waiting for an iPad are likely not to change that idea, they want one and will get one..
Click to expand...

If someone wants an iPad now, Apple knows the best thing they can do is give them one now.
 
Yeah, Apple has a problem that any company in the world would kill a baby for. They have a product that defines and, for all practical purposes began, a category and they literally cannot sell them fast enough. I honestly wish there was a competitor at this point. Ford and Chevy, Office Max and Office Depot, Best Buy and..., oh wait.
 
admanimal said:
If someone wants an iPad now, Apple knows the best thing they can do is give them one now.
Click to expand...

That's not true at all. If it were, companies would not announce products until they could release them that day. I waited in line yesterday, and didn't get one, but the lady in front had a Droid X and honestly didn't know much about the iPad 2 (3G meant nothing to her, as did RAM, pixel density, etc.), but she'd heard so much that she really wanted one. It's anecdotal, I know, but I can attest to the fact that I have seen the mystique of low supply and high demand work.
 
I'm not sure how many people are saying they are intentionally keeping stock low, but I think a few of us feel like they launched with too little stock for a smooth launch.
 
Now that I think on it, I'm beginning to suspect Apple gazumped themselves because they wanted to maintain the mystique of market dominance with the advent of Android competitors.

The Xoom WiFi is being released March 29. Advertising for it has ramped up. The WiFi/3G is actually less expensive than the comparable iPad unit (32GB WiFi/3G) if one includes the $20/mo contract. The WiFi-only version is priced the same as the 32Gb iPad ($599) and will be sold at more retailers. And then you have all the other tablet devices due to hit the market over the next couple months.

Apple had to make a big showing of unprecedented demand for their iPad2 now or risk being seen as last year's competitor. If they waited until April when production had given enough stock they'd be just one of the competitors.

Just a theory. To me the only thing they screwed up was not allowing pre-orders of any kind. That led to uncertainty in the lines and a lot of disappointed buyers. I wonder how many will be giving up entirely over the next week and then revisiting the purchase in a month when there is much more competition.
 
There's a lot more to business than just selling products. Headlines of people lining up for a product almost a week after launch and that same product being resold for more than twice the purchase price are bad for the consumer, but definitely great for Apple. The hype and brand recognition are well worth it for Apple even if they sell a few less ipads in the first few weeks.
 
WoodrowCall said:
That's not true at all. If it were, companies would not announce products until they could release them that day. I waited in line yesterday, and didn't get one, but the lady in front had a Droid X and honestly didn't know much about the iPad 2 (3G meant nothing to her, as did RAM, pixel density, etc.), but she'd heard so much that she really wanted one. It's anecdotal, I know, but I can attest to the fact that I have seen the mystique of low supply and high demand work.
Click to expand...

That being said, they probably lost sales long term if they can't deliver fairly soon. Competing tablets, rumors of an iPad 3 or just realizing they don't need it...people can forget quickly.
 
chrono1081 said:
Here is a link for all the people who think Apple is intentionally throttling the shipments of iPad 2's:

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/16/notable-slowdown-at-foxconn-manufacturing-concerns-apple/

Looks like high demand and short supply are the real problems, (just like any huge electronic launch).
Click to expand...

By the by, that article does nothing to support your hypothesis. It merely shows that Apple's main production center (Foxconn) has slowed growth of production and warns stock may be limited in future because the factory has reached its max potential of production. It says very little for demand of the iPad2.
 
I'm quite sure they're not intentionally throttling supply.... Intentionally ******** up the release in other ways, though, I'm not sure. I'm sure some of these problems seemed like good ideas at the time, others they might think will pay off in the end, and still others are just bad luck/planning and some manager somewhere will get fired over it.
 
dgree03 said:
Pent up demand.

Your not turning away those customers, your only making them more anxious to get that product. The people waiting for an iPad are likely not to change that idea, they want one and will get one..
Click to expand...

This assumes that Apple thinks they need to artificially create demand around their product. They don't, so your argument is empty.
 
once a factory has reached peak capacity, they can expand facilities and workers to meet what may be a temporary increase in orders. Then they are stuck with excess once the demand dies down.

Foxxconn is not going to expand just to meet demand for early adopters. The supply chain will even out at some time. Really can't blame Apple. Blame yourselves for your need to have one on launch day.

Wait a few weeks and you'll be able to get one anywhere. People just need to chill.
 
kansas-cty-shfl said:
There's a lot more to business than just selling products. Headlines of people lining up for a product almost a week after launch and that same product being resold for more than twice the purchase price are bad for the consumer, but definitely great for Apple. The hype and brand recognition are well worth it for Apple even if they sell a few less ipads in the first few weeks.
Click to expand...

The unfortunate gamble for Apple is a guy like me getting pissed off because it's too much of a damn hassle to go and buy one.
 
Surf Monkey said:
This assumes that Apple thinks they need to artificially create demand around their product. They don't, so your argument is empty.
Click to expand...

They may not have to artificially create demand but they do have an image to maintain. They are brilliant marketers and have perfected the art of convincing consumers that they absolutely have to have their product. This current debacle continues to cement that image.
 
kansas-cty-shfl said:
They may not have to artificially create demand but they do have an image to maintain. They are brilliant marketers and have perfected the art of convincing consumers that they absolutely have to have their product. This current debacle continues to cement that image.
Click to expand...

This assumes that the launch was orchestrated by the marketing department. I don't buy it. The demand for iPads is already so huge that the launch would have played out exactly as it did even if Apple had had twice the standing stock. When the original iPhone was launched Apple had to create the idea of exclusivity and build up the impression of pent up demand... because there really was none for iPhone at that point. People were happy with their other smart phones. This is a completely different situation. Apple dominates the tablet platform and in order to maintain their dominance they need to put as many units in peoples' hands as they can. Judging Apple's strategy around iPad by the standards established around iPhone is a big mistake.
 
Apple may not be holding iPads back to create buzz (though if they did, it could easily be written off as an investment in advertising, and any short term sales losses would probably cheaper than actual advertising), but given the obvious stonewalling of information about availability from management, there is clearly some back story at work.

As mentioned in another thread, there is simply no way Apple DOESN'T know exactly where every single iPad they've made is located and where it will be sold. They know exactly how many of exactly which model is being shipped to exactly which store. They have the manpower and the technology to tell us exactly where and when people can get the iPad they're looking for, yet they withold this information, causing long lines of frustrated customers.

If there's no behind the scenes story driving this behavior, I'd be extremely surprised.
 
david77 said:
The unfortunate gamble for Apple is a guy like me getting pissed off because it's too much of a damn hassle to go and buy one.
Click to expand...

Fair point. For everyone of you though I bet there are more like the lady a few posts up who was standing in line knowing nothing about the ipad just because she heard so much about it. I could be wrong, perhaps it really is just a miscalculation intended to beat the competition, but I think Apple is waaaaaay too smart to bungle a launch like this.

Honest question though: are you still going to buy one in a few months when you can walk into virtually any store and walk out with an ipad?
 
dgree03 said:
Pent up demand.

Your not turning away those customers, your only making them more anxious to get that product. The people waiting for an iPad are likely not to change that idea, they want one and will get one..
Click to expand...

So the goal of this is to increase the anxiousness to get the product in people who were already going to buy one? Once they've shown up at the store and lined up I don't see how much more demand you could instill in them, or how it would benefit Apple.

Having lines form etc. is one thing, but then once you have the customers in line and the publicity achieved, why not just give them the product in exchange for money?
 
kansas-cty-shfl said:
Fair point. For everyone of you though I bet there are more like the lady a few posts up who was standing in line knowing nothing about the ipad just because she heard so much about it. I could be wrong, perhaps it really is just a miscalculation intended to beat the competition, but I think Apple is waaaaaay too smart to bungle a launch like this.

Honest question though: are you still going to buy one in a few months when you can walk into virtually any store and walk out with an ipad?
Click to expand...

I think the better question is can walk in right now and buy one, and we know the answer to that is no. And that is NOT a good consumer experience. Plus they are arbitrarily sending various models to the outlets with no rhyme and reason and no information is being given to the consumer as to what to expect, so I would have no idea of where or when to go to get one. I am aware that this is Apple's way and "good" marketing/business, but it does not translate to a good consumer buying experience.
 
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